Forest land — Area in Western Africa
Western Africa: Forest land — Area was 72,740 1000 ha in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forest land — Area in Western Africa, 1990–2025
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for forest land — area in Western Africa is 72,740 1000 ha, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forest land — area in Western Africa peaked at 99,361 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 72,740 1000 ha, in 2025.
Western Africa ranks 26th of 32 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.
Forest land — Area in Western Africa, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 99,361 1000 ha | — |
| 1991 | 98,458 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 97,556 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1993 | 96,653 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 95,751 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 94,848 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 93,946 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1997 | 93,044 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 92,141 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 91,239 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2000 | 90,336 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2001 | 89,589 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 88,842 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 88,095 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 87,348 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 86,601 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 85,853 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 85,106 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2008 | 84,359 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2009 | 83,612 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 82,865 1000 ha | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 82,051 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 81,237 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 80,423 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 79,609 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 78,795 1000 ha | -1.0% |
| 2016 | 78,166 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2017 | 77,537 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 76,908 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 76,279 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 75,650 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 75,068 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 74,486 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 73,904 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 73,322 1000 ha | -0.8% |
| 2025 | 72,740 1000 ha | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 95,300 1000 ha | 91,239 1000 ha | 99,361 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 86,974 1000 ha | 83,612 1000 ha | 90,336 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 79,387 1000 ha | 76,279 1000 ha | 82,865 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 74,195 1000 ha | 72,740 1000 ha | 75,650 1000 ha | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Africa
- 23 United Republic of Tanzania 43,400 1000 ha compare
- 24 Melanesia 39,480 1000 ha compare
- 25 Papua New Guinea 34,029 1000 ha compare
- 26 Mozambique 32,243 1000 ha compare
- 27 Sudan (former) 31,559 1000 ha compare
- 28 Sweden 27,934 1000 ha compare
- 29 Myanmar 27,095 1000 ha compare
More environment data for Western Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.37 °C (2025)
- Industrial roundwood — Export quantity 355,916 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, coniferous — Production 51,000 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import value 18,051 1000 USD (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Import quantity 79,324 m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood — Production 20.68 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forest land — area in Western Africa?
- Forest land — area in Western Africa was 72,740 1000 ha in 2025, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest forest land — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 99,361 1000 ha in 1990.
- What is the lowest forest land — area recorded in Western Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 72,740 1000 ha in 2025.
- How does Western Africa rank for forest land — area?
- Western Africa ranks 26th out of 32 groups with data for 2025.
- Is forest land — area rising or falling in Western Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Western Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Forest land — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.